Imagine: China deploys hundreds of thousands of autonomous drones in the air, on the sea, and under the water--all armed with explosive warheads or small missiles. These machines descend in a swarm toward military installations on Taiwan and nearby US bases, and over the course of a few hours, a single robotic blitzkrieg overwhelms the US Pacific force before it can even begin to fight back. The proliferation of cheap drones means just about any group with the wherewithal to assemble and launch a swarm could wreak havoc, no expensive jets or massive missile installations required. The US armed forces are now hunting for a solution--and they want it fast. Every branch of the service and a host of defense tech startups are testing out new weapons that promise to disable drones en masse.

The Marine Corps has held 10 days of battle simulations and exercises to test out new urban warfare technologies. The exercises, dubbed Urban 5th Generation Marine Exploration and Experimentation 2018 (U5G), ran from March 15 to 25 in Camp Pendelton in southern California. Multiple naval warfare centers and military laboratories joined 48 private companies for U5G, where NCOs tested out some 79 technologies and offered feedback. The experimental equipment included anti-drone weapons, sensors that see through walls, 'smart' networked radio, micro drones, an enhanced thermal imager with information displays, as well as autonomous vehicles and enhanced munitions. 'This whole week was introducing us to new technology and getting feedback from us as the end user,' said Marine Sgt.

IF DRONES COULD eat other drones, the SparrowHawk would sit somewhere near the top of the flying-robot foodchain. Click here to watch the video.